Lucas Benjamin took up the task of sharing his favourite records for this second edition. He is part of the MORE BOUNCE collective which has a strong focus on Funk. With a capital letter ‘F’. Next to that Lucas joined the renowned Wicked Jazz Sounds-movement in 2014 and started his own label called Wicked Wax. With these 7 records Lucas Benjamin shares a couple of real funk gems with electronic and organic sounds.
Flam Clap – In The Pocket
This track is by Ethan Goldhammer & Sam Burke, they did plenty of other projects but never anything similar to this!
It found me about 8 years ago and I keep on playing it till this day. I love the details, warm Rhodes and balance between electronic and organic sounds.
Herbie Hancock – Ready Or Not
People might know Herbie for many reasons as he kept on changing with the times from the 60’s till today.
For example: his next album is going to be with people like Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Terrace Martin! But this Boogie Jazz-Funk classic from 1979 will always stay relevant and timeless. It has so many layers that I’m sure if you would listen real closely with good headphones you’re still going to discover extra synth melodies somewhere.
Prince ft Maceo Parker – Prettyman
Prince is one of those artists that recorded so much quality that we’ll need the rest of our lives to digest all of it. (We’re probably not even going to hear most because it’s all hidden in that vault..). This track is heavily overlooked and should be played way more in my opinion. Maceo, who previously played saxophone with James Brown, definitely brought his a-game here.
Whenever I play this I’ll be grooving behind the decks from start to finish, without a doubt!
Homegrown Syndrome – Confrontation
This record is by Ike Turner’s band, released in 1981. As far as I know they only recorded one 7”. It immediately hit me the first time I heard it and it became one of the songs I played at most of my gigs in the past 3 years. Original is quite hard to find, but then suddenly it got reissued in 2015. So get it before that one’s gone as well.
Collage – Do You Like Our Music
That guitar groove just makes you funk it up from the start and as soon when that synth-bass hits you can’t stop moving.
Released in 1981 and it was produced by the legendary group The Whispers! It has a great horn section and beautiful melodious songwriting.
Nuyorican Soul ft George Benson – You Can Do It (Baby)
This project by Louie Vega & Kenny Dope (aka Masters At Work) from 1996 was curated and released by Gilles Peterson. For this track specifically they were inspired by the west London sound called Broken Beat, which I love. Plus you have George Benson jamming and scatting all over the place. In this anthem everything just came together in perfect harmony. (I heard that they’re working on a sequel of Nuyorican Soul, so be on the look-out!)
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band – Gyae Su
I love so many different feels and kinds of music and I really tried to keep this list focused on Funk mainly. But this one cannot be left out. African music lifts my spirits so high it needs to be shared. Legendary Ghanaian artist Pat Thomas has been making music for over 50 years and is still really active today. He released his last album in 2015. This track came from that album, so it’s relatively new. I played it the first week it came out and it’s probably the most played track by me since then. It just brings so much joy to everyone and instantly makes you dance! Try it. 😉
